In this interview with ACTING EDITOR, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM, former Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr Ali Ahmad talks about life after office, the ACJA Act and return of strike to Unilorin among others. Experts:
You have been out of the scene for a while after the last general election. How has it been?
Yes, it’s been fine, there is no much difference except that our people and supporters do not want to realise that one is no longer in government and so they expect one to operate on the same frequency as before. They don’t want to know that it is no longer possible. We can understand everybody is facing a tough time and no one is finding it easy. But they are used to getting some leeway from you and so you cannot blame them. We just have to continue to do what we can and leave the rest.
You came in from academics and has returned there now, how can you describe the switch?
Well, everyone has its challenge. From academics you are operating on a frequency of having a global view of everything, proposing amendment and recommendation and how our democracy can be enhanced, how the governance can be. But in politics, you are in the picket of it. In the academics you can spend decades advocating for a change in policy, in good governance and amendment of a law. As a politician, what one has achieved in the field of law and policy in four years, it can take several decades to do so in the field of academics.
You made history as a federal lawmaker with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) during your time in House of Representatives, do you feel there is a need for a kind of improvement on the bill?
The ACJA is a revolutionary law that has impacted our criminal justice system so greatly and one is grateful to be able to be in the forefront of the coming into effect of that law across the country which is over 400 sections. Having said that, law is always a continuous exercise and the Supreme Court has brought back about one or two sections as unconstitutional. We were driven by the passion that we wanted criminal justice system to pick up some speed. It is unacceptable anywhere in the world if prosecution takes over 10 years just like the Kalu’s case and at the final analysis, the apex court said that the proposals by ACJA that where a High Court Justice is promoted to court of Appeal and he is on the verge of concluding a case, instead of assigning it to another judge to start for another 10 years course, he should just sit.., but the Supreme Court felt that is not true and wanted that same provision to be put in the constitution instead of ACJA. I’m sure in this next round of constitutional amendment, that should fly because it doesn’t make sense that a judge who has handled a case for up to 10 years and now due for promotion will be told to hands-off. It is either way, it’s not fair to the judge and the system as well. So the balance is to agree that such a judge can be promoted and still conclude the case. The case is not one that just started, it is about to be concluded, all the witnesses have been taken and it is just to write judgment at the final stage, such judge can be promoted. I hope Nigerians will clamour for that to be inserted into the constitution. But by and large, ACJA as speed up our access to criminal justice system in Nigeria and we are grateful and thankful that God used us to play a very big part in that achievement?
Now to the issue of academics, you are from here and following the event at the University of Ilorin. Recently, there’s been a lot of discussion about the return to take University back to mainstream ASUU which has seriously affected the uninterrupted academic calendar of the institution. What is your take on this?
First, I visited the campus to meet with colleagues and friends last week. It is the better by far University and we are proud of it. But this is a difficult question. As a loyal ASUU member but first and foremost a Kwaran, I will say the policy reversal by the current Unilorin management is not a well thought out decision. A leader must be able to withstand pressure and that is what other Vice Chancellors and management have done till now. The better by far university used to be a very good University but now that it has joined the fray, it is no longer different from others. All things considered, I will not support that decision. I mean there are pros and cons if you consider the lecturers and their personal interest. In 2016 or there-about, while other Universities were not working, lectures here were on campus and when everybody returned, instead of the federal government to give them their allowances, they pass it to ASUU and ASUU denied them. So you can see that while not going on strike they were even denied their Allowances, they were dis-insentivised. So for them, it is about the money and you cannot fault them. Agreed the Vice Chancellor might be under pressure but other Vice Chancellors have faced the same pressure and they withstood it because they knew that the interest of Kwara and the University was in staying the way it is. The decision is not the best thing for the University. I have spoken to the Alumni, some lecturers and community people in town and what I’m hearing is not supportive of that move. How can you have a university with a 20-25 years culture of uninterrupted academic colander and within 1-2 years, we just reversed it. It’s unfortunate. University of Ilorin is one of the foremost federal institutions that we have in Kwara and the only reason that it is unique it is because it doesn’t go on strike. The appellation better by far has been greatly but negatively affected. If it is still better, is it still by far? I doubt it and in another two years, that better might have been dropped and it will be like any other University. For Kwarans, it is an unfortunate decision. A selfless leader, management will not do that because the interest of the university must be at the forefront.
How best do you think the issue should have best been handled?
If you want to take a fundamental decision like the issue at hand, this is not a run-of-the-mill decision and it is the Senate or Council. This is beyond them, they will come and spend their five years and leave, but this is about the University which has had perpetual succession for ages. The VC is my friend and the management, but you see, when you’re talking about something fundamental, the discussion should have been comprehensive and that is why countries have different ways of decision making consensus and referendum. On this instance, they should have called former Vice-Chancellors, Alumni, community members, professors, serving and former and let the town and gown meet but where is the town here? If they say they were being ostracized at conferences and meetings because of their stand, what is ostracizing that they cannot withstand. Hitherto, the uninterrupted academic programme was unique otherwise is it the number of professors, faculties or course that was not available in other universities? But it is that uniqueness now that has been taken away, now we are just like any other university. This is like a constitutional amendment for the University and a decision that should have taken in the boardroom, it is very painful, it shouldn’t have happened. Because of the ongoing strike, Bayero University just cancelled a full academic session and you know what that means, it’s like that year never existed. Imagine the implication of that on today’s young people, one year wiped off completely and never regained
You’re not a unionist so to say but do you see a reversal?
In my university I will support ASUU to go on strike because that is the culture there but for University of Ilorin, I will not because the culture here is different, they have never been on any strike for the past 20 years. For reversal, I’m no longer with the University of Ilorin but I’m not sure the current management can do anything about that. But it could be something for campaign for whoever is coming in whether you want the University of Ilorin to go back and become better by far or you won’t that to be banished to history and just have that nostalgic feeling that there used to be a time when university of Ilorin was better by far. An incoming VC can use that as a campaign and the University community, the town, Ilorin emirate and Kwara people can demand that. They can say the institution is negatively impacting the economy and government for nine months. The town this time around can decide that whoever is coming especially now that the universities are autonomous must make that key. The people of Kwara must determine what future they want for the University and whoever wants to become the Vice-Chancellor next time should tell us what programme he or she has for university. For now, let us watch and see for another management, with this management, I think it is lost hope.
What is your advice for Kwarans during these hard times?
I will ask them to be patient. Nothing can happen structurally, politically until 2023, it is a choice collectively made by majority of Kwarans and it is not even a Kwarans thing but a Nigerian thing. When you make a decision, you stand by it. This is a decision majority of people have made and majority and minority have to stick by it. That is dictate of democracy that we’re operating. If it had been a parliamentary system, you can call for snap election if you are not enjoying the system and want to make a vote of no confidence. But for presidential system, it is time bound and once you make a mistake, you make the mistake for four years. So we have to stick by it. We have to support each other, support the government and then when it is time for change of decision, we can take the right decision. I can agree with you, things are tough, government should have done better. There were things that overwhelmed the government like Covid among others, but there are interventions that government should have done to cushion the effect of this pandemic and sufferings of the people which government is not doing which shows deficit in the governance. Like I said, we just have to be patient and now I think everybody is wiser and they will make informed decisions going forward. Kwarans should be smarter because the power is in their hands. They should focus on the history, past records and trajectory of anybody that is asking for their votes and not based on certain benefit that is only based on personal interest. In the next election, we should not just bring somebody that we don’t know what he has done before and say they will be good, people don’t change overnight. We have to look at those people pushing themselves for election and ask about their impact previously. Those that come to build boreholes during election are fake and even if such person is in the private sector, what has he done in that sector, who has he help, what do we hear about them. It’s dangerous to trust such person in government.
